


stuck in the middle (of the basement with you)

by haengbokhaeya (shinybicho)



Series: stuck in the middle [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Emotionally Constipated Lee Jihoon, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Implied Sexual Content, Kwon Soonyoung is whipped, M/M, jihoon is emotionally constipated, lapslock, nothing too graphic mostly just referenced, seungcheol gets a small cameo, what is this even, wonwoo's mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 16:57:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10768512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinybicho/pseuds/haengbokhaeya
Summary: kim mingyu was an idiot.





	stuck in the middle (of the basement with you)

**Author's Note:**

> (not all titles with parenthesis need to be song lyrics... or need to make sense. lmao.)
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> i _definitely_ wasnt kidding when i said i wanted soonhoon to be the 2nd relationship tag on ao3. this is a fic out of about 16 new titles im working on… frankly, this was inspired by my [girl talk](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7984768) fic where nayoung thought that no one was gutsy enough to push lee jihoon into a closet with kwon soonyoung. and i thought... kim mingyu. kim mingyu could be idiotic enough, though.
> 
> but anyway, in all my fics, answer me this; who’s more whipped: jihoon or soonyoung?
> 
> (ps. please enjoy, idk when i'll be able to post a new one-shot again)

kim mingyu was _dead_ to lee jihoon.

it was all figurative, of course, but if mingyu didn’t return within the next five minutes, he would be, literally.

“hyung,” mingyu said, “seungcheollie-hyung messaged and said he’ll be back by six in the evening.”

jihoon groaned, as he thumped his forehead against the door. it was a loud thump. he took a deep breath, and he tried not to just break the door down himself. knowing seungcheol, the door was thick, and if jihoon tried breaking it down by kicking it or ramming into it, bones would be the ones breaking.

“you’re sure you don’t have the keys, mingyu?” soonyoung asked from behind him, and he tried so hard not to remember that they were both stuck in a basement alone together.

“hyung, if i had them,” mingyu said, “i’d have already gotten you out. jihoonie-hyung’s wrath just isn’t worth it.”

jihoon sighed again, as he thought back. he and soonyoung rarely met at the hallways, always having different class schedules with soonyoung being a nighttime radio disk jockey for the university with morning classes, and with him preferring night classes because he needed to sleep in with his occasional composing habit for television shows. the only moments they met were when seungcheol invited all the dorm residents to eat with him. (he was still sure it was a ruse just so seungcheol could have dinner with jeonghan. he called seungcheol out on it too. it didn’t work well.)

“you are _dead_ to me, kim mingyu.” jihoon said, feeling as though it needed to be stated with the amount of anger he felt that moment.

he knew that seungcheol knew that he listened to soonyoung’s university radio show despite it playing at an ungodly hour. he also knew that seungcheol was the only one who caught him smiling like an idiot when soonyoung first mentioned his composed drama soundtrack, and played it on the radio. (it was his first actually released work. the joy and giddiness he felt when it played on television was less when it was played on the university radio from beginning to end. soonyoung had commented that it just sounded too good to cut in the middle. that was when seungcheol caught him smiling like an idiot.)

“sorry, hyung,” mingyu said, and in jihoon’s opinion, he could have been more apologetic about it. “but it’s five fifteen anyway. cheollie-hyung will be here in a blink of an eye!” he sounded too enthusiastic for someone who misplaced the keys to the basement.

“of all the times we forget our own keys to the basement, huh?” soonyoung commented, taking a seat on top of the staircase that led further down to the basement of the dorm-slash-apartment. he had the right idea, jihoon guessed. they were stuck there for a while, after all. “i’m sure you’d rather be with anyone else.”

okay, so _maybe_ it was a lie that he and soonyoung rarely met in the hallways because of their mismatched schedules. it was on purpose, on jihoon’s part. there was a drunken night, and boy, did jihoon prefer to just not remember anything because of the alcohol. alas, he remembered every single detail, including every single mole, every single quirk, every single preference of soonyoung’s. it was also one of the reasons why kim mingyu was dead to him.

jihoon preferred not to have the “ _day after_ ” conversation while being stuck in the basement that smelled. in fact, he’d rather not have the conversation at all. but fate was, apparently, against him of all days because soonyoung decided it was the perfect time to discuss it.

“i didn’t think i’d meet you like this again, though,” soonyoung commented, and jihoon felt a blush rising on his cheeks. the drunken night was brought on when he was too stressed, and he just wanted to stop composing for a moment. just a single moment. in that single moment, kim mingyu burst through his door and dragged him to a university party where drinks were shoved onto him while kim mingyu left in search for someone else. in that single moment, jihoon told himself to just fuck it, he deserved the break, and drank cheap beer. in another single moment, everything was blurred and fuzzy, and he vaguely remembered some pelvic thrusting, tight leather pants, slanted eyes, strong cologne, thick thighs, and buff arms carrying his entire weight.

jihoon swore off alcohol when he limped his sore ass back to his dorm room.

“didn’t you have class?” _way to go, lee jihoon. that was both dismissive_ and _disturbing._

soonyoung smiled, though. it was a genuine smile that helped jihoon feel less of an ass. then again, soonyoung smiled at everyone. “free day,” soonyoung said, turning back to face the dingy stairs that was barely lit by the flickering light bulb. (when they got out of there, jihoon noted that seungcheol needed to clean the basement up. and then, change the light bulb because the place is--)

“i was hoping i’d take you out, though.” jihoon’s brain crashed, as he tried to process what soonyoung said. what soonyoung _meant_. weeks had passed since that _one drunken night_ , and he made sure to never run into soonyoung for as long as it was possible. until that day, when mingyu asked him for a favor and completely forgot to mention that he asked soonyoung with the same favor, too. mingyu quickly said that he needed to get something from his room, as he dashed out the room, and they all promptly forgot that the basement was only opened _and_ unlockable from the outside. jihoon trusted that mingyu had the keys. he learned that it was a trust verily misplaced.

“to coffee? since i,” soonyoung ducked and avoided looking at jihoon, as he scratched his cheek with one finger, “kinda knew you have classes tonight…”

jihoon’s brain was like an unresponsive computer, blue screen of death and all. soonyoung’s words processed through with difficulty. soonyoung wanted to take him out? _soonyoung_ wanted to take him out? soonyoung wanted to take _him_ out? his mouth opened and closed. it seemed to be misinterpreted by the look on soonyoung’s face. soonyoung’s face fell into disappointment. he gave jihoon a sad smile. he stood and walked into a corner. the space on top of the staircase was small for the two of them, but _damn_ did soonyoung make an effort to make himself smaller.

“i--” jihoon croaked, as he found his voice. he gulped, “--are you sure?” (he wanted to hit himself. _you spend your days_ using _words and_ that’s _all you can say? what the_ fuck _, lee jihoon?_

“that was,” soonyoung stood straight, but kept in the corner. he looked less defeated, and a bit more hopeful. the blush rose to his cheeks again, and it made it look rounder that it was. the sole light in the basement glowed above them, and jihoon found that true love _was_ blind. “i’ve been wanting to ask you out since freshman year.”

jihoon’s eyes widened. that was years ago. they were in their senior year. the final year in school before they tackled the real world. jihoon already received job offers from multiple entertainment companies to produce songs for their artists, while jihoon also knew of the fact (from seungcheol) that soonyoung was already recruited by a highly popular radio channel that hosted well-known shows throughout the day.

“so when you came to the party with mingyu, i--” soonyoung paused, and it was ridiculous how much jihoon was holding onto every damn word. “--i told myself that’d be my one and only chance.” the sad smile returned, but for a different reason. jihoon wanted to wipe it off because it didn’t belong onto kwon soonyoung’s naturally bright and smiling face.

“when you left that morning, i thought it was just a one time thing,” soonyoung said, finally looking directly at jihoon. it was a soonyoung he had never seen outside of a choreography piece before. (seungcheol had pulled him into a culminating performance for dance students after a term of being locked up in his room, stating that he’d been without sunlight long enough, and soonyoung was at the very front, with his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, and his hair drenched in sweat; his eyes were sharp, and there was a clear cut concentration that couldn’t be disturbed even if the world ended.) “then i rarely saw you around the apartment.”

“we live in a dorm, tho--” jihoon caught himself, biting his bottom lip mid-word because that was _so_ not the point.

soonyoung chuckled. it was airy, breathless. “yeah, dorm.” he looked away again, opting to stare at the staircase.

“i thought you didn’t know who i was.” and it took a second for jihoon to realize _he_ was the one who spoke. when soonyoung looked at him with widening eyes, jihoon felt something _break_ . “i didn’t think you’d know i even _existed_ , let alone know that i lived in the same dorm building. i forget everything and every _one_ around me, and it takes seungcheol _and or_ , mingyu to pull me out of my room because i’m pale enough as it is despite being born in busan with the beaches and i don’t make a lot of noise. music’s the closest to shouting i’ll ever get, and seeing you at the party felt like being stuck in the middle of a rock and a hard place, and i didn’t even think _you’d know_ i--”

soonyoung kissed him. he grabbed jihoon’s cheeks with both hands, and pushed his mouth onto jihoon’s. jihoon’s arms reached around broad shoulders instinctively, as he grasped soonyoung’s shirt. he opened his lips, allowed soonyoung’s tongue to pass through. he exhaled, released a breathy moan as soonyoung turned their faces to bend the other way. his grip on soonyoung’s shirt tightened.

in what seemed like forever, with oxygen gone and pulled from his lungs, jihoon opened his eyes when soonyoung pulled away. hands still cupped his face, and he still had a tight grip on soonyoung’s shirt. he knew that without those, he would have fallen on his knees. soonyoung smiled. it wasn’t his usual bright smile. it was softer, fonder. as if it was a smile reserved for _him_.

“how could i _not_ notice you,” soonyoung said, with their foreheads touching still, “you’re incredible.” soonyoung opened his eyes, and jihoon gasped mutely.

“also,” soonyoung continued, “you were starting to ramble and i couldn’t understand you.” he released another chuckle, but there was something in it that made it different from the previous one. there was also that smile. it still wasn’t as bright as his usual smile; it was still softer, and fonder, but it was wider. he _glowed_.

“so…” soonyoung began, as he caressed jihoon’s cheeks with his thumbs. jihoon felt weak, and numb. he searched soonyoung’s face. when he caught soonyoung’s eyes, he was mesmerized. it felt like the oxygen was pulled out from his lungs _again_. “coffee?”

jihoon opened his mouth, as his brain chose the answer for him already.

“mingyu? what are you doing there?” seungcheol’s voice muffled from outside the room.

“wha-- _hyung_?” mingyu yelped, and opened the door wide. soonyoung and jihoon were thankfully away from the path of the door, and safely avoided crashing into it and mingyu. (they were still at the top of the staircase leading to the basement, they remembered belatedly.)

seungcheol looked at mingyu, then at soonyoung and jihoon. they were frozen in the same position, with soonyoung’s hands cupping jihoon’s face, and jihoon’s hands gripping the back of soonyoung’s shirt. seungcheol smiled wickedly, as if christmas just came early. he was dressed in a tank top and sweats. his gym bag was slung over his shoulder, and he looked like he was only _just_ prepared to leave the building.

“well,” seungcheol said, hiking the gym bag further up his shoulders. “i’ll leave you two to it, then. although the building has _lovely_ beds.”

soonyoung and jihoon jumped apart, as they sputtered. their cheeks reddened impossibly bright, and they scrambled out the door that led to the basement. seungcheol waved a hand without looking back, a cocky smile surely on his face, and jihoon bet on it.

mingyu groaned, still sprawled onto the ground. they stepped outside and stared at him. when mingyu pulled himself up, a light glinted in the doorknob.

it was a key.

more specifically, it was _the_ key. the key to the basement door that was only openable _and_ unlockable from the _outside_ , which _mingyu_ told them he had misplaced. to which mingyu told them that _seungcheol_ was already _out_ , and just _about_ to return.

kim mingyu was _dead_ to lee jihoon.

“kim. mingyu.” jihoon said, with a deep, seething poison laced in his voice that promised a horrible death. mingyu squeaked, despite being over six foot tall.

“i think i heard wonwoo-hyung call me. see ‘ya, hyungs!” mingyu scrambled. his long limbs awkwardly flailing as he ran away from jihoon. 

jihoon took one step, fully intent on murdering mingyu up to the ends of the earth, when soonyoung caught his wrist. he turned around, suddenly remembering where he was, and who he was with.

“you’d think i’d get a hint after asking twice but i really don’t know when to quit, so,” soonyoung said, as he stepped just a little closer to jihoon, as close as they were while they were “stuck” in the basement, “coffee?”

soonyoung’s lips quirked up at the corner. a small twitch that jihoon noticed anyway. he looked down from the hand that held his wrist, back up to the owner of the said hand. jihoon smiled, his brain officially caught up to the moment they were having.

kim mingyu could wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Most of my knowledge of the people are from a few performances, interviews and a whole fuck-ton of fanfiction. ~~which may or may not be a good basis for characterization...~~ So if there are any out of characterizations, please feel free to inform me. Also, any kind of criticisms are greatly appreciated.
> 
> This was edited and re-edited by me. It's not English-picked, so please forgive grammatical errors and extreme wrong use of tenses.
> 
> TALK TO ME: [tumblr](http://haengbokhaeya.tumblr.com) | [twitter](http://twitter.com/shinybicho) | [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/shinybicho) (if y'all confused or smth)


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